Overview

If you already have waivers, rental agreements, or house rules as PDF files, you can import them directly into ArrivHQ agreement steps. ArrivHQ extracts the text from your PDF -- including scanned or image-based documents -- so you do not need to retype anything.

How it works

  1. Open your checklist in Setup > Checklists and add or edit an agreement step.
  2. Click the AI Import from PDF button next to the agreement content field.
  3. Select your PDF file. ArrivHQ extracts the text and places it in the content area.
  4. Review and edit the extracted text as needed.

For Tier 2 (E-Signature) steps, ArrivHQ automatically breaks the document into sections for initialing after the text is extracted. You can review, edit, add, or remove sections before saving.

How text extraction works

ArrivHQ uses two methods to extract text:

  • Text-based PDFs -- Documents created digitally (Word exports, online forms, etc.) have a text layer that ArrivHQ reads directly. This is fast and accurate.
  • Scanned or image-based PDFs -- Documents that were scanned or photographed have no text layer. ArrivHQ uses AI to read the images and convert them to text. This takes a few seconds longer but handles most scanned documents well.

Editing after import

The extracted text appears in the agreement content area where you can:

  • Fix any formatting issues from the extraction
  • Remove headers, footers, or page numbers that were picked up
  • Add or modify content as needed
  • Use AI Extract Sections to break the text into initialing sections (Tier 2)

Limits & requirements

  • PDF files must be under 10 MB.
  • AI Import from PDF is available on all plans.
  • Automatic section extraction after PDF import requires the Host plan or higher.
  • Image-based PDF extraction uses AI and may not capture every detail of complex layouts, tables, or handwritten text. Always review the extracted text.

FAQ

What types of PDFs can I import? Any PDF up to 10 MB. This includes text-based PDFs (exported from Word, Google Docs, etc.) and scanned/image-based PDFs. For best results with scanned documents, use clear, high-resolution scans.

Will the import preserve my document formatting? The import extracts plain text only -- formatting like bold, italic, columns, and tables is not preserved. You may need to add paragraph breaks or clean up spacing after import.

Can I import a multi-page PDF? Yes. All pages are extracted and combined into a single text block. Page markers are automatically removed.

What happens if the extraction fails? If ArrivHQ cannot extract text (e.g., the PDF is blank or heavily corrupted), you will see an error message. Try re-scanning the document at a higher resolution or using a text-based PDF instead.